A GOSPORT father who broke the law by flying to Iraq to highlight the suffering of people there will return to Britain on Monday.

Les Gibbons, 42, travelled to Iraq as part of a sanction-breaking group, risking up to five-years in jail for taking medical supplies, toys and medical journals to the country.

During the trip he visited children's hospitals in Baghdad and Basra to see for himself what conditions for children in Iraq were like.

Speaking before he left last week, Les, a social worker who has two children, said he felt he had to make the world pay attention to the consequences of economic sanctions imposed after the Gulf War.

"When I see that the government is playing its part in promoting what amounts to nothing less than genocide, I feel compelled to speak out."

According to Unicef, economic sanctions have contributed to the deaths of 500,000 children in Iraq since 1990.